Dispatch Staff Photo by JOHN HAEGERA New York State Trooper and a Madison County Sheriff Deputy block off John Peet Road in Canastota on Thursday, March 31, 2011.

CANASTOTA -- Police believe the armed carjacking that was reported Thursday afternoon never happened and was called in by a 17-year-old Madison County man who later fled police and was shot after displaying a gun.

New York State Police did not reveal the teen's identity at a press conference at the Oneida Barracks Thursday evening after the incident.

Bureau of Criminal Investigation Captain Mark Lincoln said Oneida County 911 dispatchers received a call at 2:40 p.m. reporting that a young man wearing sunglasses stole a car at gunpoint from a Tops Supermarket.

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911 dispatchers alerted Sherrill Police to the scene, sending officers to the Sherrill Tops, where it was later discovered that no carjacking had taken place.

Shortly after officers were dispatched, Canastota Police spotted a silver Dodge Stratus matching the reported vehicle's description at the intersection of Route 5 and Peterboro Street in the village of Canastota. When the officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the subject fled. A state police sergeant joined the pursuit and officers chasing the teen about four miles into the town of Sullivan.

From New Boston Road, the car turned onto John Peet Road, a dead-end. The teen reportedly stopped the car and got out; the officers ordered him to show his hands.

He then produced what appeared to officers to be a black handgun and pointed it at them. When he refused to drop the weapon, approximately 10 rounds were fired at the subject; four hit him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Canastota Police Chief James Zophy, a 17-year officer, and Officer Sean Barton, with seven years at the department, reportedly fired the shots. Besides the officers' orders to the subject to show his hands and drop his gun, Lincoln said no other words were exchanged. The officers were approximately 20 yards from the subject when the shooting occurred.

"All indications thus far reveal that these officers made a split-second decision and performed their jobs properly, faced with what they believed to be a handgun pointed at them (from) a vehicle that was reported stolen in an armed robbery."

Investigation by the troopers revealed that it was the teen who made the 911 call reporting the carjacking, an incident that Lincoln says never happened. He said the car was owned by the teen's family. The gun the subject was reported to have displayed was a pellet gun.

Police are still investigating what caused officers to be dispatched to the Tops in Sherrill; Lincoln said the store's location was not identified in the 911 call.

The Madison County District Attorney's office has been charged with making the determination whether or not to take further action in the case. The name of the teen is not being released until his family has been notified. Troopers expect to have more information Friday.